Thematic Workshop on Landscape, Nature and Tourism in Abruzzo

The Abruzzo Region hosted the workshop “Landscape, nature and tourism in the Abruzzo Region” in Pescara on June 19, 2018, in collaboration with the Italian partners of the WinWind project, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies (ENEA) and the consulting Company Ecoazioni.

The workshop focused on onshore wind power development preserving landscape, nature and tourism. 25 stakeholders attended the event coming from local authorities, universities, energy utility companies, environmental and non-profit associations.

The Head of Energy Policy and  Air Qualityin the Abruzzo Region, Iris Flacco, introduced the Regional Guidelines for wind farm implementation adopted by the administration. She also positively considered the opportunities coming from the WinWind activities in supporting the next revision of the guidelines which will pay a great deal of attention to the participatory methods

Abruzzo represents a good example concerning social dialogue. The positive dialogue between administrators, local population and installers favoured social acceptance of wind energy projects. The main wind operator in Abruzzo, E2i Energie Speciali, underlined communication and information allowed project adjustments to reduce the visual impact. The repowering of existing plants is a key element of the sustainability strategy of E2i. It guarantees at the same time the maximization of wind energy production and the minimization of the environmental impact.